


Hiraeth

by tyrannuspitcch



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Boyfriends, F/F, F/M, Gen, High School, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Magic, Multi, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:21:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23526808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyrannuspitcch/pseuds/tyrannuspitcch
Summary: After mysterious death of his parents, 16 years old Darren is moving to England to live with his uncle. But he has strange plans with him. He drives him right in front of the gates of Watford, the school of magic. He meets new friends, weird boy who might be the love of his life and  discovers more about the world of mages his parents never talked about. Trying to find out more about his parents, he realized their death maybe was not an accident.
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> english is not my first language so if you spot any mistake just tell me and I will correct it:) And also let me know what you think in the comments

The sky is so dark that I can't see anything. My uncle is quiet and he actually hasn’t said a single word since he has picked me up at the airport. Before my parents died I only saw him once and it was when I was little so I don't really remember what he’s like. But now, I don't think I’ll like him.  
I look out of the window, but there's nothing. Really nothing, only darkness and sometimes a shadow of a tree.

I look at my uncle. His dark brown hair is messy and his tired eyes are looking right at the road before him. I wonder what he is thinking about right now. Maybe he hates me and he is planning to throw me out of the car in the middle of nowhere so wolves can eat me alive. And that sounds like a horrible way to die. But are there wolves in England? I have no idea.

After another hour, or maybe more or less (I'm not sure because my phone is in my backpack in the back of the car), my uncle finally looks at me with no expression on his face. He turns his head back almost immediately, but it doesn't matter anymore. Because after a few silent awkward hours in the car, he is finally talking.

''If your parents were still alive, they wouldn't want me to take care of you.'' Those are his first words since he has picked me up and to be honest I'm quite disappointed. "But I'm your only close relative and they’re dead so it doesn't matter anymore.''

I don't know what to say. And I actually don't want to say anything at all. My parents never talked much about my family. I only know that my grandparents died when I was little and my mum didn't have any siblings. But my parents had a lot of friends in America and they were just like my family. So maybe that’s why I don't really think about it.

''But you aren't going to live with me. You will be visiting a boarding school, a very good one, probably the best. Your Dad and I, we were both visiting Watford at your age.'' he says. I can't look at him. I don't want to go to boarding school. 

It's obvious that he doesn't want me to bother him. He probably has his own kids, his own family and he probably hates my dad, since my dad never really talked about his brother. I only know about him because of the photo my mum had in one of her family albums. I was three years old and my uncle, much younger than he is now, was holding me. But I don't really remember that moment.

''And there's one thing your parents never told you.'' his voice is silent now and he looks like he's thinking about how to continue. ''They were mages. Both of them. And you are too.''  
Okay. Now I know why my parents never talked about him. He's crazy.  
I laugh and he frowns.

''It's not funny and I have no time to explain it to you more.'' After this, he just stops the car in the middle of the road. ''I”ll have to show you. That's the only way to make you believe.''

I roll my eyes. He whispers something but I can't hear it. But something happens. I can't move anymore. I can't even talk. I try my best to scream, but I can't. I want to jump but my legs are motionless. I want to hit my uncle, because he’s the one who did this to me and I have no idea how the hell it’s possible.

After a few seconds, which feel endless, I can finally speak.

''What have you done? That's crazy! Just drive me back to the airport, I wanna go home. You're crazy.'' I'm not usually this rude to people, but I'm really angry. Whatever he did, I wasn't ready.

''Don't be silly, you have no home anymore. But if you stop screaming, I can tell you that Watford is going to be much better home for you than your small stupid house in America ever was.'' he says and he smiles. 

I sigh. I'm still angry but there's no point in arguing. My parents would hate to see me like that, screaming at my uncle. I take a deep breath, not really ready to start a new chapter of my life, but there's nothing I can do about it.

''Okay. I'm sorry. Tell me everything I need to know.'' I look at him and he smiles again.

''Your parents were both mages. That means they could do real magic. The magic was inside of them. They met at Watford. They fell in love and all that shit, you know what I'm talking about. And then your mom became pregnant. They were finishing school and something weird happened. I'm not going to talk about it. And they didn't want you to live this way, too. Your mom's parents were rich, she stole money and ran away to America with your dad. I tried to talk to them, I even visited you once. But I couldn't change anything. I could only hope that once, when you were older, you’d screw things up so much that they wouldn't have any other option then to send you to Watford. You know, kids with magic can't control it. But it didn't happen. And now they're dead and I'm your only relative. I want you to go to Watford.'' 

For a while I'm thinking about everything he just told me. It's crazy. I have so many questions.  
''My parents wouldn't want that.'' I can't think of one response so this is the only thing I say.

''Your parents are dead. And they were stupid to keep you out of everything. I understand that magic is dangerous but they were great mages and one day you will be great too.'' he's smiling and I'm confused. My head is full of thoughts and I can't think of anything else to say. And I'm tired.

''It's probably too late for you to start at Watford at sixteen, but I called with headmaster, Mrs. Bunce, and we discussed it for a few hours. She was a good friend of your mother’s. And with me. You’ll have to work very hard and probably spend summer studying, but I believe in you. Now sleep, we have a long journey before us.'' He doesn't even have to tell me to sleep, because I' m already falling asleep. The last thing I can feel is his hand in my hair. 

/morning/

The sun is shining when I open my eyes. The car isn't moving anymore. I can feel cold air blowing into my face and messing with my brown hair.  
I look around. There's a huge courtyard with a fountain in the middle. I can see buildings that are really old and beautiful. My uncle is talking with a tall woman near one of them, probably the biggest one with four towers.

I get out of the car and walk to them.

''Hi, Darren Blackworth. I'm Mrs. Bunce and it's nice to finally see Violet's son. I'm very sorry for your loss.'' I shiver when she says my mum's name and I look at her. She's beautiful, in a purple long dress, with a sad expression on her face. 

''It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Bunce.'' I stammer after a while. My uncle is looking at me, he's frowning a little.

''It's November and because kids usually start when they're eleven, you're really behind the others. But I have already figured it all out. In a while, you will meet your roommate, his name is Adler and he is going to show you everything here. After your little excursion, you will meet Brynn. He is going to give you after class lessons so you can catch up. Brynn is one of the best students here.'' She's smiling and I'm trying to remember everything she just told me. Everything is new and I hate it. ''Oh, here he comes.''

There's a group of boys walking down the path. They're laughing at something and Mrs. Bunce points to one of them, the tallest one with blonde hair. He must be Brynn. And he frowns at me right after he sees me. Not the best greeting, but whatever. This is my new beginning and I can already tell it's going to be rough.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you all for reading first chapter. Let me know what you think about this one in the comments!

The next day, the sun isn't shining and the dark weather outside totally represents my mood.

I'm laying in my bed and now I know that I'm completely alone in the world. Even my uncle has left me. This is such a strange place, I still can't believe that I'm here and I'm a mage. I can do magic as my parents did, but they never told me.

I wanna go home. But this is my home now.

I hear footsteps really close behind my bed. Maybe I can pretend I'm still sleeping, but the person has probably already seen my eyes open.

I sigh and sit up.

It's a boy, Adler. My roommate. He showed me the school yesterday and we talked a lot, but I don't remember much of it. I wasn't really listening. In my thoughts, I was still in America in my house, which probably belongs to another family now.

''Good morning, Darren.'' he whispers with a smile on his face. He's friendly and talkative, but I'm not really in a talking mood. ''How was your first night at Watford?''

''Fine, but I miss my own bed.'' I say and try to smile at him, but the grimace on my face is probably the worst smile ever.

''Well, this is your new bed, so better get used to it.'' He says, but it's not mean even though it definitely sounds mean. ''You should change your clothes, it's breakfast time. Do you remember where they serve breakfast at Watford?''

''Weeping tower, first floor I guess. And the others are classrooms.'' I'm not sure but he nods, which means I'm right. 

I don't need to change, because I slept in my clothes from yesterday and I'm pretty sure they're good enough to wear again.

"Hurry up if you don't want to be late,'' he's standing at the door and smiling at me. I smile back and walk next to him.

Mummers house is a large building full of rooms. Only boys live here. Mine and Adler's room is on the last floor and Brynn's room is exactly under ours. I still didn't get to have a talk with him and I'm not really looking forward to it. Even though yesterday Adler told me that Brynn is nice, it's hard to get closer to him and he very rarely makes new friends. So, I guess he doesn't want me to be his friend and to be honest I totally understand.

I'm a weirdo from America. I didn't know I could do magic until now, which means I have no idea how to do simple spells. Simple spells that 11 year olds at Watford can do even with their eyes closed. I know nothing about the World of Mages. I don't even remember what my first class is. I guess it's something like the history of mages. I used to hate history when I was in my high school. It was always so boring for me, but maybe this time it won't be. 

''What did you used to have for breakfast in America?'' Adler asks me, probably to fill the awkward silence between us. 

''I don't eat breakfast. Only coffee.'' I answer and look around me. We're standing on a path which should lead us directly to the Weeping tower. In the morning light (even though it's still a bit dark) everything here looks way better. It's full of trees, grass, and bushes. If you wanted to see something green in my city in America, you would have to drive a few miles on the highway. 

''Why? I'm always so hungry in the morning,'' he laughs. He's wearing his uniform, but I still haven’t gotten mine, Mrs. Bunce told me it should be in my room after breakfast. Looking at the other kids, I feel weird wearing normal clothes. I also feel weird because everyone is looking at me. I'm not used to that much attention. I’ve only had a few friends in America and my high school was so big that no one really cared about me. I never was a troublemaker, I didn't go to big parties, even though I sometimes got high with my best friends and drank a couple beers. 

But that's all. 

I think I’ll miss it. You're probably not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke at Watford.

''I don't know, I guess it's because I never had time before school and on the weekends I slept until lunch.'' I answer.

When we walk to the dining hall, it's almost full. It smells very nice here, like a mix of all kinds of food. 

''My friends are guarding our seats near the last table.'' he says, walking through the middle of the dining hall and I frown. That means I have to walk with everyone's eyes on me. I hope all of that attention will be gone in a few days.

We're almost there when I feel someone's hand on my arm. 

''Hey, you're Darren Blackwood, right?'' It's Brynn and he's frowning.

''Why are you asking, you already saw me yesterday.'' I say and I frown too.

''You're a smartass, aren't you?'' he smirks a bit and then he sighs. His blonde hair is a little messy, but I guess that's how he likes it. He's taller than me. The uniform he's wearing is a green blazer and he's holding a red jumper in his hand. While looking at his jumper, I realized it's actually cold here and I'm only wearing a white shirt and black ripped jeans. No one's wearing ripped jeans at Watford. I wonder why they even allowed me to walk here with civilian clothes. Maybe I'm a special case after both of my parents died and I didn't know I'm a mage until now. Or whatever, I don't really care.

''Anyway, meet me on the Football pitch at 6pm, every day from now on. Your first lecture is today. Bring only your wand and be there on time.'' After this, he walks away to sit down with his friends so he can finish his breakfast.

I notice that younger kids are wearing different uniforms. I will probably have the same one as Brynn and Adler.

Adler is sitting with his friends, there's only one seat free for me. I sit next to him and he hands me a white mug full of coffee. I smile at him and take a sip.

''So Darren, this is Annie, Jorge, and Joshua. My crew, and I hope yours too from now on.'' Everyone is smiling at me and I smile back, then look at every single one of them. Annie is a small girl with dark brown hairs and bright blue eyes. Jorge is a tall blond boy and I almost immediately notice that he's very similar to Brynn. I give him a weird look and he laughs.

''Yeah, you’ve probably met my older brother Brynn. Hope he's gonna be nice to you.'' I nod and look at Adler. He could have told me.

After breakfast I walk to my room alone. I quickly dress into my uniform, which is waiting for me on my bed, and look at myself in the mirror. I guess this weird boy in even weirder uniform is me now.

The school wasn't so bad. I liked it because it was different from my old high school. I especially enjoyed the history of mages, which was weird, because as I said before, I used to hate history in my old school. 

I also met new guys, but I liked my friends in America better.

At 6pm, it is already dark outside. I wonder how Brynn wants to give me a lecture when it's dark and I don't think there will be lamps on the football pitch. The football pitch is also near the Wavering Wood. It must be really creepy out there now.

I am walking in my uniform, the sky is dark and a cold wind is hitting my cheeks and making a mess of my hair. Brynn is sitting on the grass, he's holding his wand and playing with it. Something is shining around him, but I can't figure out what it is. So I just sigh and walk right next to him.


	3. Chapter 3

''Why is there so much light when there are no lamps?'' I ask Brynn and raise my eyebrow. He laughs a little and then look at me with his wand in his hands. It's shining so bright that I can clearly see his pale face with sarcastic smile on his lips.  
''You do realize I am a mage and so are you, right?'' he asks instead of a normal answer.  
''You do realize I found out that I am a mage two days ago, right?'' I answer him with the same sarcastic tone he used in his question before.  
''Why so rude, Blackwood? This is not how you should treat your teacher, did your parents told you that?'' he smiles ironically and I give him an upset look.  
''Don't talk about my parents." I mutter. This topic is still too painful for me. I'm not weak and I never was, but death of both parents at the same time and then finding the truth about who I really am would probably make anyone weak. Even him.  
''Okay. Sorry,'' he says, not ironically and I can see the smirk on his face changes a little bit. ''So, how did you like your first day?''  
''Well... it was good.'' I answer, thinking about how could he turn from sarcastic asshole to nice dude in one second. I guess I really have to be careful with him. Adler told me a person never knows what to expect from Brynn.  
''That's good for the beginning. You still don't have your wand, do you?'' he smiles and point with his wand at me.   
''No. How do you get one?'' I ask. Nobody told me how to get one and I really want one, since I will probably really need it. Because now I am a mage. I always was, but noone told me.  
''Well... it doesn't have to be a wand, that's the first thing you need to know. I have a friend, she has a necklace. Also it can be a ring, really anything. I mean, wand definitely looks more magically, but that's not the point. Your uncle will probably bring you something very soon.'' After this, we spent one hour talking about magic. Brynn was talking, I was just asking. It was a lot to remember, but I will know everything soon. I have to, or I will be a burden to this world. And actually I shouldn't mind, because I don't want to be here at all.  
When I'm back in my room Adler is sitting on his bed, writing history assigment for tomorrow. I don't have to write it, since I missed five years in this school.  
''Hey, how was your first tutoring with Brynn?" he smiles at and asks, as I'm walking to my bed.  
''It was fine, Brynn is actually not that bad. I guess I will get along with him,'' I answer as I lie down and look at the wooden ceiling.   
''He's nice to you because you lost your parents. You still look sad.'' he mumbles and I frown, but he can't see it. I don't answer him, I just grab my history book and start reading first chapter, as my teacher told me to do. I have to catch up so many topics it will last me probably one month to one subject.  
As I am reading about all these history of magic things, there's one things crossing my mind.   
Why didn't my parents told me anything about my origin. I know they didn't want me to be endangered by magic, but they could tell me at least. I would be doing much better know. And maybe I would be ready for this. Not maybe, I definitely would be ready. Now it's all crazy and weird. I never believed in magic and now I'm a part of it.  
Adler is telling me about all the subjects, but I'm not listening. I'm reading the same chapter all over again even though I don't even know what I'm reading about.   
When it's dark and quiet everywhere, I finally fall asleep. But it's not a long sleep. I wake up before sunrise.   
I can hear someone whispering. But it's not Adler, he's sleeping very hard while moonlight is shinning softly on his motionless face.  
''Come here.'' the voice says. To say that I'm scared is probably not enough. I'm terrified.  
But maybe I shouldn't be. This is a magic word, anything is possible, or at least I think so.  
''Go away.'' I mutter and sit.   
''I can not. You are finally here, Darren. I can not go away now.'' it answers. I can feel my room is a bit warmer than it was when I was falling asleep. I'm thinking about waking up Adler. But what good would it do? Probably no good, because that voice may be only in my head.  
''I am not only in your head, my dear. I am everywhere but not in your head, believe me. Come and follow me.''  
''Go away!'' I scream loud enough to wake Adler up.  
''What the hell, Darren?'' he says while rubing his eyes. Then he looks at his radioalarm. ''It's four am, what's happening?'' there's fear in his voice, I can hear it. I bite my lip and look around.  
It's quiet again, no voices, only Adler shivering in his bed. No annoying voices. I guess it really was only in my head.   
''Sorry... Just a bad dream.'' I mummer and look at him. He's frowning now, so I open my mouth again. ''I'm having bad dreams since my parents died. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I didn't want to wake you.''  
He gives me understanding look. But I don't think he understand, his parents are still alive. He can't understand.   
''Go back to sleep. Annie is very good with spells, I bet she knows one to fight bad dreams.'' he smiles and then yawns  
''Yeah, sure. Thank you.''  
He goes back to sleep. But I can't. I keep telling myself the voice was only in my head. I'm going crazy, but that's much better than actually hearing real voice of some ghost in the middle of the night.


End file.
